Si Montréal vibre particulièrement durant la saison estivale, sa scène musicale indépendante ne connaît pas de répit en hiver. Un festival au creux de l’hiver, mais pour quoi faire ? Eh bien… pour y voir plus clair, justement. Réparti entre l’avenue du Mont-Royal, la rue Saint-Denis et le boulevard Saint-Laurent, le Taverne Tour continue de sortir des sentiers battus. Pour sa 9ᵉ édition, il revient avec une mission claire : nous remettre en forme pour la rentrée musicale.

What happens when algorithms start shaping culture and when mastering digital tools becomes a survival skill? At the Pathwaves Futures World-Building workshop organized during POP Montreal International Music Festival, participants explored this question, imagining music's role in 2035. In the spirit of resisting algorithmic curation, the bands featured in this article were chosen through a deeply human process. Rather than relying on data-driven recommendations, we turned to the most original and already available algorithm: community knowledge and genuine diversity. As artistic expression is transformed by technological change, this selection of artists from POP Montreal represents a digital survival strategy—a secret language protected by the few who still believe in the power of human connection.